340 MAN'S USE AND CONSERVATION OF SOILS 



In North America before the coming of the white man, 

 there were probably extensive areas where the growth of 

 forests had been checked by fires set by the Indians. The 

 prairie regions were probably much enlarged by the annual 

 grass fires. All this was done in order to make hunting 

 less difficult. It is believed that the Bad Lands of Dakota 

 were once a fertile region which the destruction of the forests 



BAD FORESTRY 

 The hillside was stripped, leaving it a prey to erosion. 



left a prey to running water. Erosion has left these lands 

 valueless for agriculture. It is exceedingly difficult even to 

 travel over them. It was in these natural fastnesses that the 

 Sioux Indians made their last ineffective stand against the 

 white man's civilization. But the white man has outdone 

 the Indian in reckless destruction of the forests. 



If a region is well supplied with forests so that the rain 

 as it falls is held by the moss, leaves, and roots and pro- 



